Photographic development apparatus



I E. M. JAFFE ET AL PHOTOGRAPHIC DEVELOPMENT APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 12, 1954 INVENTORS EMANUEL M.' JAFFE EDMUND S. GALAW AI'I'IORNEYS Feb. 9, 1960 E. M. JAFFE ET AL PHOTOGRAPHIC DEVELOPMENT APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 12, 1954 FIG. I:v

FIG. 4

INVENTORS EMANUEL M. JAFFE EDMUND S. GALAW BY 720.4441, M 9701'), M

ATTORNEYS United States Patent PHOTOGRAPHIC DEVELOPMENT APPARATUS Application February 12, 1954, Serial No. 409,882

2 Claims. (Cl. 95-94) This invention relates to print developing and finishing machines and has for its object to provide a unitary machine to which exposed Photostat and like prints may be continuously fed and therein developed, fixed and dried sulficien'tly to be immediately usable. In making Photostat prints, the exposed paper sheet must be submerged in a developing solution, and then Washed to remove the developer, the wash water usually containing a fixing or stabilizing agent. These operations are ordinarily carried out in trays in which the sheets are successively submerged and. thereafter dried. In recent years, however, the light sensitive paper used for such prints and the agents used for developing and finishing the prints have been so improved in quality that the time of submergence required for proper treatment of the prints has been reduced so that the prints may now be continuously fed throlgh the successive liquids at a fairly high rate of spec Developing machines as heretofore produced have involved expensive mechanisms of such excessive cost as to be prohibitive except where there is a continuous large volume of work to be done.

The object of our invention is to provide a simple, easily operated machine of low manufacturing cost which will process the prints in a satisfactory manner and which can be economically used for a small number of prints or which can be continuously operated if a large quantity of work is to be done.

Our improved machine embodies suitable vessels for the developing solution and the stabilizing solution, squeegee rolls, and a dryer with means for continuously feeding the exposed prints through the successive instrumentalities in such manner that the prints are developed, stabilized and dried in a few seconds.

Our improved machine is so designed that the exposed prints may be fed continuously into the machine with the leading edge of each print following closely on the trailing edge of the preceding prints and continuously delivered from the machine in such manner as to form a conveniently positioned stack.

Other advantages of our improved machine will be apparent from the following specifications and accompanying drawings wherein we have illustrated a preferred example of our improved machine as it is now built for commercial use.

In the said drawings:

Fig. 1 is a vertical section of the entire machine;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section of a portion of the machine showing the print feeding devices;

Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 are detail views of the supporting frames for the print feeding devices.

Referring to the drawings, particularly to Fig. 1, the machine comprises a base 1 in the form of an inverted pan, the bottom of the pan forming the support for the vessels 2 and 3 in which the developing solution and the stabilizing solution or wash water are respectively contained. Angles 4 welded to the base hold the vessels 2 and 3 firmly in place. The prints are fed successively through the two vessels by means of a series of feed rollers so arranged as to convey the prints downwardly into and through the developer solution, thence upwardly out of the developer solution, downwardly again into the wash water or stabilizing solution in the second tank, and finally upwardly out of the second tank through squeegee rolls and into a drying unit so that the prints will be thoroughly dried, and thence out of the machine onto the top of the casing where they accumulate in a pile.

The feed rolls are all supported for rotation upon suitable rods extending longitudinally of the machine be tween two end plates 5 and 6, respectively. These end plates are of a shape to fit into the vessels 3 and 4 adjacent their end walls, the end plates and the rods forming a rigid frame which remains in place without fasten ings. The feed rollers are driven from a motor not shown through gears 7 and 8 and chain 9 on the end of shaft 10 near the upper edges of the plates.

The first feed roller 12 encountered by the prints is carried by a rod extending across the plates in a position about the middle of. the vessel 3. This roller is continuously driven by a chain 13 extending from the drive shaft 10 to a sprocket on the end of the shaft 12 of the roller.

In Fig. 2 we have shown the structure for feeding and guiding the prints successively from the feed roller 12 guide Wire 50 extends from the supporting angle 52 ad;-

jacent the opening 32 in the casing through which the prints are inserted, thence downwardly through peripheral grooves in the roller at the bottom of the tank, thence upwardly over the upper feed roller on shaft 16, thence downwardly beneath the roller on the shaft 21 in the second vessel through peripheral slots in said roller to the supporting angle 52 adjacent the squeegee rolls. The shaft 21 is driven from the shaft 10 by a chain 29.

The second set of feed wires 51 are similar to the wires 50 except that these wires are shaped to underlie the peripheries of the feed rollers below the liquid level in the two vessels and to extend through circumferential slots in the upper feed roller overlying the adjoining ends of the tanks. The two sets of feed wires, which are spaced axially of the feed rollers in the same way as the rubber bands in the first described structure, provide parallel guides for the prints moving through the machine, whereby the prints inserted through the opening 32 in the casing between the guide wires 50, 51 (see Fig. 2) will be guided through the developer of the first tank, thence upward out of the developer, downwardly into the stabilizing solution and upwardly out of the stabilizing solution into the bight of the squeegee rolls.

To insure a positive movement of the print through the guides the feed rolls in the two vessels are provided with co-operating rolls 53 which, as shown, are circumferentially slotted to receive the portions of the guide wires 51 which underlie the submerged feed rollers. In like manner the upper feed roller is provided with a co-operating roller 54 on shaft 10 which is circumferentially slotted to receive the portions of the guide wire 50 which overlie the upper feed roller. The rollers 53 and 54 may be conveniently formed of rubber disks vulcanized in spaced relation to the rods on which they are supported.

Guides 55 are supported adjacent the squeegee rolls for guiding the prints as they are delivered to the receiving belt of the drying unit.

The drying section of the machine is shown particularly in Fig. 1. The dryer consists of a hollow metal drum 35 carried by a hollow shaft 36 supported for rotation in suitable bearings 37 carried by side plates attached to the base of the machine. Attached to the shaft 36 is an electric heater 39 which is energized through wires extending through the shaft. 36. a

Surrounding the drum 35 is an' endless cloth belt 40 which also passes over. the idle roller 41 carried by the side plates at a point above and forwardly of the drum as shown in Fig. 1. Also surrounding the drum is a second endless cloth belt 42 which is also looped'over roller 43 on the shaft of the motor and idle rollers 44, 45 and46 positioned as shown so that the prints as they leavethe squeegee rollers 27, 28 are fed between the-two belts and are carried around the dryer down to the discharge open ing 47 in the cover. The cover also has a receiving slot 32 overlying the space between the rubber belts and the guide wires leading to "the feed roll 12 in the vessel con: taining the developer.

It will be understood that for processes involving more than two steps additional vessels may be employed with similar feed devices to feed the prints successively therethrough.- a I I In the foregoing specification we have described a preferred embodiment of our invention as it is now built for 7 1. In a machine of the class described, a plurality of vessels for maintaining ditferenttreating solutions, a feed roller overlying the adjacent ends of the first and succeeding vessels, means for feeding sheets to be treated through said vessels below the liquid levels thereof comprisingfeed rollers supported in said vessels with their lower surface below the liquid level, guides consisting of -21 series of parallel wires extending from a position above the sur face of the liquid in the first vessel, thence beneath the said roller in the first vessel, thence upwardly and over the feed roller overlying the adjacent ends of the two vessels and thence downwardly beneath the feed roller in the succeeding vessel, and means positioned above said.

vessels including the feed roller overlying the adjacent ends of the first and succeeding vessels for advancing the sheets fedupwardly from one of saidvesselsdown- References Cited in the me of this patent wardly into a succeeding vessel and thence upwardly out ink-M ng,

UNITED STATES PATENTS 717,021 Pollak Dce. 30,;1902 1,116,943 Snow, Nov. 10, 1914 1,234,410 1 Stromberg 4.-.- -July24, 1917 1,344,896 -.l June 29, 1920 1,366,748 Shapiro "Jan, 25,1921, 1,435,764 Trolahd et 8.1. L. Nov. 14, 1922 1,590,796 Banks] June 29, 1926 1,816,290 Klimis f.. -L.. Iuly 28, 1931 1,828,798 Beidler Oct. 27, 1931 1,852,662, D Lord at al. ApnS, 1932 2,210,880 ,Capstafi ,Aug. 13, 1940 r 2,265,975 Lloyd Dec; 9, 1941 2,342,394 Fullerton Feb. 22,1944 2,401,185 Pratt et al May 28, 1946 2,685,831 ,Standberg fAug. 10,1954

FOREIGN PATENTS 632,823 GreatBritain Dec. 5, 1949 

